Litotes is the expression of a property by the negation of its antonym (contrary). An example is given below:

Example 1

Dat wie net ferkeard

that was not wrong

That was not wrong. => That was quite right

The Frisian sentence can have a factual interpretation or a hypothetical interpretation. The translation only expresses the factual interpretation.

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Litotes is the trope by which a property is expressed by the negation of its antonym. Litotes in Frisian may pragmatically imply a quite positive judgment. It is collocationally restricted to certain adjectives. The example in (2a) can have the litotes interpretation but (2b) cannot:

Example 2

a.

Dat wie net ferkeard

that was not wrong

That would not be wrong. => That would be quite right

b.

Hy is net stout

he is not naughty

He is not naughty ≠> He is quite nice

In its basic interpretation, litotes may be considered the contrary of the use of the downtoner wolrather with positive adjectives: